Israel - Day 2

What a difference a day makes. Today started out so much calmer - for starters we didn't have to deal with immigration as our ship remained docked at Haifa. Our first stop at the Jordan River was also very peaceful. It was a lovely setting and we got to dip our feet into the river where Jesus was baptized.

We then visited the Mt. of Beatitudes where Jesus was said to have given His Sermon on the Mount.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/mount-of-beatitudes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_of_Beatitudes

Next was a stop at the Primacy of Peter, where the disciples caught the boatload of fish. Time to wash the feet again in the Sea of Galilee. Can you believe that it is 630 feet or 210 metres below sea level (and it is fresh water, so not really a sea)?

http://www.biblewalks.com/Sites/SeaofGalilee.html

http://www.goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Tourist+Information/Christian+Themes/Details/Chapel+of+the+primacy+of+Peter++chr.htm

Lunch was served at a local restaurant called St. Peter's Fish. Yummy - and the beer is Golden Star dark lager!

Back on the bus, we passed by an Archaeological Site which they figure was Mary Magdalene's home.

http://www.biblewalks.com/Sites/Magdala.html

We stopped in Tiberias for some to shop, then on to Cana which was where the miracle of water being turned to wine at the wedding was to have taken place. You could buy wine in almost every shop, but we settled for some fresh squeezed pomegranate juice.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/cana

Then on to Nazareth to the well where Mary received the news from Gabriel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Orthodox_Church_of_the_Annunciation

We made it back to the ship just after it was supposed to have left, but we had no worries as apparently seven out of the ten buses were still out. We had another lovely dinner and were getting ready for the evenings entertainment when we finally set sail, almost two hours late. It seems to be the Mediterranean way.

We had some lovely table mates on the ship. They are Cypriots who have been living in South Africa since the war in 1974. They joined our bus on the second day and were very impressed with our guide. His name is Anton and he is a 75 year old retired school teacher; definitely a wealth of information especially regarding Israeli relationships. Here is a bit from Dale -

What we learned? The complexity and the sadness of the region is palpable when you visit. We felt safe but sensed that there was much behind the scenes. Too many walls and too many guns. An occupied people will not be happy and this news video shows a bit of that story. It was good to travel in the west bank and up to the Golan Heights to see the difficulty that exists in this 'Holyland'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzXulGX4aMo

All-in-all it was a very informative and educational trip. It wasn't the spiritual experience I had hoped, but it was certainly well worth doing. And on that note, take care and God bless.

Love,

Laurel

Israel, September 2010

So what does one who travels for a living, do for fun with some extra time off? Why, travel of course! At least we didn't have to get on an airplane. We took a Salamis Cruise from Lemesos, which is only half an hour from our house. Two of the three nights were spent at sea, going to and coming back from Israel. We had two very packed days while we were there and I will try to fit in the highlights. It was a bit of a rough start on Saturday morning as they had to herd 600 people through immigration on the ship before we could get on our buses. The trip to Jerusalem took about two hours. Trust us to pick a holiday to visit. Apparently it was the Festival of Sukkot, when all the Jews visit Jerusalem. Yes, it was crowded.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukkot

http://www.etz-hayim.com/festivals/docs/sukkot.pdf

Our first stop was The Church of the Holy Sepulchre - claimed as the site of the Crucifixion, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus. This Church was built by Queen Helena, Mother of Constantine the Great in 326AD. See the following websites for more information.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-church-of-holy-sepulchre

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=&q=jerusalem+holy+sepulchre&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=-sShTNWDNs-L4AbFj83AAw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQsAQwAA&biw=1225&bih=684

We left the Christian quarter to go to the Wailing Wall in the Jewish quarter which was decorated with Myrtle, Date, Willow and Citrus branches for Sukkot. The following websites are interesting - the first for pictures, the second for more information.

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=wailing+wall&psj=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=7eShTOzJHYvU4wa2xJmlAw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CD4QsAQwAw&biw=1225&bih=684

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-western-wall

Along the way we passed by the site of the original St. John Hospital.

To leave the walled city we passed through the Leather makers Gate.

http://www.itsgila.com/tipsgates.htm

From there we had a lovely view of the Mt. of Olives followed by a picture of the wall erected by Israel.

Bethlehem was our next stop and the Church of the Nativity which is said to be built over the cave where Jesus was born.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Nativity

Our late start compounded itself all day, but we did manage to get back to the ship before our allotted seating for dinner ended and the buffet was superb. We then had time for a shower and spruce up before the evening's entertainment. It was 90% Greek, but the singers and dancers were very good, so we did enjoy it. Then off to bed for another early start the next day.

To be continued . . .

September in Kouklia

Hi there,

Just to let you know that we are still alive and keeping busy. Dale and I won (2 bottles of wine) at bridge last week but couldn't pull it off again this week. But thats ok since we haven't managed to finish off the first wine yet. Saturday we were out at Episkopi Station - the British Army Base. They hosted a wonderful event with many exhibitions; unfortunately for Dale, I think it was too windy for the RC planes. The parajumpers were fantastic though, managing to land on their target in spite of the wind. It was still a bit hot, so we jumped into the pool as soon as we got home. We were joined by a Collared Mourning Dove, who sat contentedly on the side of the Jacuzzi while Dale swam about and I took its picture.

We tried a new restaurant that evening with Maureen and Jonathan called the Akava. It was just past the really busy tourist area of Tombs of the Kings and was run by a Scottish lady. The special of the day was T-bone steak, which isn't something that Cyprus is famous for, but we were promised that it would be good - and it was. What a pleasant surprise.

Ken celebrated his 6oth on Sunday with a party by their pool and Lesley put on a wonderful buffet supper. His good friend Derrick came down from the UK to entertain us with some excellent singing and keyboarding. It was a great party.

Last night we drove up to Latsi for an evening boat cruise and BBQ. Tim and Susie did all the organizing, we just had to show up with bathing-suits and snacks. The sea is now warmer than our pool and Dale was thankful that the boat hada freshwater shower at the stern. They anchored at a lovely little bay they call the Blue Lagoon. You can see the beautiful white sand through the pristine water. Afterwards we had a very tasty meal then cruised back in the moonlight. A good time was had by all.

I am now going to sign off as I have a bit to do to get ready for our trip to Israel on Friday.

I will fill you in on that early next week.

Take care.

Love,

Laurel

September 2010

What a week! The marathon started last Thursday at the Amphitheatre in Coral Bay with a fundraiser for cancer called 'Rave for Dave'. This was a phenomenal event featuring several bands and conglomerations of bands who came out in support of a fellow drummer who died of cancer. Who would have thought that there would be such amazing talent on such a small island. As it was we went with our neighbours Maureen and Jonathan, who are avid music aficionados, so Dale was in his element.

Saturday we were off with Ken and Lesley on a coach trip to Lemesos for the Wine Festival. There was much revelry and great entertainment, as well as many different dishes to sample and of course, much wine to be tasted.

After church on Sunday we met up with friends in Mandria for lunch - Carol and Eric, and Maureen and Phil. They have a fabulous Sunday brunch at the Kentroikon Restaurant. We contemplated just staying there, since we returned about an hour later with another group of friends for supper - Ged and Maggs, Linda, Pat and Ron; but at least we changed restaurants for fish and chips. Dale and Ron didn't accompany the rest of us as we headed into Paphos for 'La Boheme'. It was my first opera and the setting with the Medieval Castle and the sea behind was spectacular. What a delight. The troupe was Slovakian, singing in Italian with Greek and English subtitles on a teleprompter. Truly an international event. And it was very well attended by locals and expats alike.

On Monday we again accompanied Jonathan and Maureen to Hector's Pub in Coral Bay for another great evening with a local band. They also invite other musicians to play with them in a sort of jam session part way through the evening. We were very impressed with the calibre of musicians.

Dale finally got to golf at Aphrodite Hills on Wednesday with Eric. It was still a bit too hot for me and unless things change soon, he is welcome to join Eric and Phil again next week without me. Meanwhile he is off flying with Adam for the weekend, as things are a bit wonky and Adam would have been single-pilot. Because of that, Dale missed Linda's walk this morning to Aphrodite Rock. Linda was so thoughtful and had water, pop and beer waiting for us as soon as we arrived at the restaurant. It is still a bit too warm here, but it will cool down soon enough. I jumped into the pool as soon as I got home and am now cooled down enough to think. So, enough said and now I will add some pictures of all these events. Talk to you soon.

Love,

Laurel